Because if we're going to try and stop the misuse of our favorite comics and their protagonists by the companies that write and publish them, we've got to see what both the printed and online comics news is doing wrong. This blog focuses on both the good and the bad, the newspaper media and the online websites. Unabashedly. Unapologetically. Scanning the media for what's being done right and what's being done wrong.

On Monday, Marvel announced that Riri Williams, the teenage super hero who took over the mantle of Iron Man in the wake of Civil War II, will debut in her own solo book this November. Riri Williams: Ironheart will feature several developments for the fledgling super hero: her first solo title, a brand new suit designed by Kevin Libranda, and the comic book debut of her writer Eve Ewing, whose announcement was met with a wave of backlash from the comic community.

There is no argument that Eve Ewing is an accomplished and talented literary writer, whose work (focusing heavily on social justice and race issues) has gained praise from numerous institutions such as the Chicago Tribune and NPR, and is the author of the celebrated book Electric Arches. Ewing also holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, among many other notable accomplishments related to her personal and moving works of writing.

While it is clear Ewing is more than deserving of her laurels and praises, comic book fans who have spoken out against her hiring have cited her lack of comic book writing experience and the purported decision for Marvel to hire her based on racial traits as two gigantic red flags from a company that consistently pushes social justice narratives over quality writing in recent years.

Also important to note that Riri's another character making a debut in a line-wide crossover, and at least a few of DC's recent introductions, while they may not all suffer from being "token replacements" for established white heroes, made their debut in a crossover as well - Dark Nights: Metal. IMO, this is hardly the best way to introduce a new protagonist, and it certainly didn't help when DC tried it with Bloodlines back in 1993.

“Periodically I have to sit back and go, ‘Omigosh, I’m a Marvel writer’ — there’s nothing more implausible and more amazing that’s ever happened to me,” Ewing adds. “When you’re a writer, oftentimes you’re grinding away and there’s a short list where you can tell your mom, grandma or your brother and they fully understand what it is. But this is something where everybody gets it; everybody understands the pop culture resonance with Marvel – what it means and what it stands for, so it’s really exciting.”

In a world where goddesses are us, Afrofuturism is now , national youth poet laureates are making their mark, and sisters are gracing the September covers of many a fashion magazine this year, Ewing joining Marvel’s ranks is the jewel in the crown that is Chicago’s literary powerhouse. Along with Nnedi Okorafor, who is writing a new comic book series on Princess Shuri from “Black Panther” in October, Chicago is on the Marvel map.

“Chicagoans, we do it big, especially black women from Chicago,” Ewing said. “We do it real big.”

No questions so far on whether she's got the experience and understanding to write a decent adventure, and not a drawn-out social justice diatribe. Without experience and practice, what understanding can there be? Even Chicago residency alone doesn't qualify one for these kind of jobs.

Ewing was touring for her poetry book “Electric Arches” in late 2017 when she saw an email from Marvel in her inbox. Titled: “Marvel calling,” she said she almost fell out of her chair. Asked about her reaction when Marvel welcomed her into the fold, she said, “It’s been like a recurring sense of wild emotions.”

It’s exciting for fans of Ewing, too. A campaign to bring her into the Marvel comics family began in 2017. Her fans started a petition to gather signatures to let Marvel know they wanted her to guide Riri’s path. The movement picked up steam on Twitter, where she has 165,000 followers. Ewing had the writing chops, she had the passion for pop culture, so make it happen, was the cry.

Reportedly, it's because she has a hairstyle similar to Riri's current one. Indeed, why does her audience believe she's entirely qualified, without any practice in comicdom, to write something like this? I don't get it. It all feels like a sense of entitlement drove this.

… on how much the 2017 online campaign had to do with Marvel’s decision:

“When the campaign was launched, it was really humbling and really inspiring for me, because it made me realize how much it would mean to so many people to have me take on the story, but it also made me realize how upsetting and angering it is for a lot of people to think about black women and people of color more broadly moving into this space — that was eye-opening. I’m really grateful for the support that people have shown me, but I also had to kind of step up to the plate as a writer and prove myself. The campaign was for me to work on ‘Invincible Iron Man,’ but when Marvel said we’re actually thinking about doing a solo title for Riri, that was like ‘Omigosh, this is the coolest thing ever.’ It’s really special, because this is a character that has some groundwork laid already but is still very new in terms of her role in the Marvel universe; it’s almost like getting into business on the ground floor. I get to play a role in really shaping who she is and who she’s going to become.”

Who said it's "upsetting" for POC to try out what Christopher Priest and Dwayne McDuffie for some already did? That sounds like victimology in motion. The only problem is whether the hired individual has the training and the talent to handle this. And so far, it doesn't look that way. When Priest/McDuffie first began their careers, it was in comics proper, and that's the kind of homegrown talent now lacking, as the Big Two favor all these people from outside comicdom instead, and that's a very poor business model. That they ultimately chose her to write a book centering on the new girl cast member rather than Tony Stark himself only compounds the perception that Ewing was hired as a token-to-token scriptwriter, based on the background of the very character she's now helming.

… on whether she’s intimidated now that she’s on Marvel’s roster:

“I’m absolutely intimidated. I think it’s definitely something where I feel the stakes. But I think the thing that has encouraged me is we have a really amazing artist who’s on board for the project — his name is Kevin Libranda, and his art is really incredible and really spirited. When I complete a script and see how he’s brought what I wrote to life, it reminds me that this character is fictional but she means a lot to a lot of people, including me. So I just try to focus on that and not be too intimidated. I definitely feel like I have to remind myself that it’s OK to not be perfect, and I’m often my own hardest critic. I think that whenever you’re a black woman doing something, people are paying a little bit more attention and that’s a blessing and a curse, so I have to remember to keep it fun, and keep having a good time and keep exploring and stretching as a writer. That’s the thing about being a writer — my philosophy is, my job is to lay the groundwork for these stories, but a reader gives them meaning. A reader decides how a story is going to live in the world, and so I absolutely hope to meet some old Marvel fans and some new converts who might jump on board because they’re excited about this character. I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

Okay, here's another ridiculous part. Nobody cares what your racial background is so long as you're proving talented and understanding of what makes the art form click. And how can the reader give meaning and not the writer, the real one in charge of how to write up the character as living in the fictional world?

So good luck on trying to draw in an audience of multi-millions, but the way things are handled besides the politics surrounding the whole project, it's clear that won't happen, and based on the origins Ewing's already conceiving, what are the chances it'll be geared towards attacking right-wing politics? Pretty high, I would figure, and if that turns out to be the case, it'll only demonstrate how Marvel's still flooded with politically-driven projects.

Ewing's first novel, Electric Arches, mixes prose with graphics and contains science fiction and fantasy elements. It sounds like a good preparation for writing comic books; and she clearly brings passion and enthusiasm to the assignment. Maybe it would be a good idea to read one or two stories by her before denouncing her? Everyone has to start somewhere, and if she can bring some of her 160 000 Twitter followers to the book, Marvel will be very happy.

I've read one piece of her poetry .Based on that piece of poetry seems like the typical angry black person who blames white people for all the problems African Americans have, who has been elevated by the elite as some kind of artist who produces profound work.

Ewing writes"everybody understands the pop culture resonance with Marvel – what it means and what it stands for, so it’s really exciting.”What Marvel stands for is something that White People Made, therefore White Domination, White Supremacy. She will takes the opportunity, given to her by other Critical Theorists to either deconstruct what the white man has built or to take ownership of it

I can see a storyline down the line going with this premise "Iron Man was always Iron Woman. Tony Stark was an imposter"if Disney has Iron Man replaced with Riri in the movies.

She is nothing but a female version of Ta-Nehisi Coates. She is there because wealthy and powerful people want her to be influential.

Unfortunately for Marvel, wealthy influential comics don't buy a lot of comics.But their minions in the educational system who share their cosmopolitan views, will eagerly order trades of Ironheart regardless of whether it is popular.And you can expect more tirades about white people and very few black kids reading.

"Ewing writes "everybody understands the pop culture resonance with Marvel – what it means and what it stands for, so it’s really exciting.”What Marvel stands for is something that White People Made, therefore White Domination, White Supremacy. She will takes the opportunity, given to her by other Critical Theorists to either deconstruct what the white man has built or to take ownership of it"

Who is this white man who made Marvel? It was made primarily by Jews and Italians, with the occasional Slav like Ditko and Tuska, Anglo-Saxon like Everett, African-Americans like Wilson and Graham. "White men" who are, say, French or Greek or Scottish have no more right to claim ownership of it than a black woman. Why this obsession with race fictions over culture, tradition and heritage?

The "white men" who built Marvel would all have been nauseated by this kind of attitude.

Marvel was built and made by New Yorkers. Marvel books have that fast-paced, snappy, New York vibe, and they are set against a New York skyline. I resent this effort by Chicagoans to appropriate New York culture for their own ends.

"Why this obsession with race fictions over culture, tradition and heritage?"

Because that is what they are being taught at school.

Liberals have won the cultural war but find the culture, traditions, and heritages of those they defeated threatening, so they are proceeding to destroy the prevailing culture, traditions, and heritage of Western countries. They have no culture, tradition, and heritage of their own.

"Look, hiring left wing women over more talented and more experienced white males gets the high level white male executive and politician laid. "I seriously doubt that all those blue haired feminists at Marvel are all Tom Brevoort's concubines. Do you really think someone like Eve Ewing, who has been brought up to resent white people is going to go down on an unattractive white man like Tom for the chump change Marvel is offering ?

And yet, liberalism is at the core of western culture, tradition and heritage. If you write it out, what is left? The US constitution, the statue of Liberty with its welcome to immigrants, the melting pot and the idea that anyone can grow up to be president - that is all liberalism. Without liberalism, there is not much to American culture.

About me

I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best.